How many of you have seen these little parody books of the Famous Five stories of old? I used to adore those books as a child, having read and re-read all 21 of the stories and wishing so hard that I could be in their world. Well this parody series brings them not only into the modern day, but back down to Earth with a bump. This time the five are all grown up and dealing with bigger problems than Timmy eating the picnic they packed (okay that’s a pretty big problem, but still).
In this parody, Anne is given some presents for her birthday that the other three should have looked over more carefully. She reads the book she was given, as well as doing further research online, and decides that they all need to give up gluten (and pretty much everything else) to not kill themselves with their diet. This is an accurate and funny look at how modern fad diets are silly and strange, although there are obviously steps to take to be more healthy, unless you have a medical condition you don’t need to be this drastic with what you cut out of your diet!
The five struggle to keep eating in this way, becoming weaker as they don’t get enough nutrients and attempting to sneak food behind the others backs! It’s a fun little piece, only 104 pages long, and is great for any childhood fans of the five!
Abi of Pellinor 